Fangzhang
History Fangzhang was founded by refugees fleeing the island of Nippon (Japan) following its invasion by an emperor from the Asian mainland. Outnumbered vastly, the Nipponese lost several battles, by which point the emperor of the island had surrendered to the invaders. However, some of his people rebelled against the emperor's order to surrender, and help the capital city, Zhutong, for a gruelling eight weeks. Before the mainland emperor's forces could blockade the port, however, it is estimated some 6,000 people escaped to the unknown lands across the mighty sea. This, coupled with about 7,000 people from other besieged ports, formed the basis for the population of Fangzhang. Following the discovery of a vast continent (Ocean Continents; Yingzhou) across the ocean, the Nipponese searched desperately for a harbour to set up an encampment. When all seemed lost, an extraordinary opportunity beckoned in the form of a vast harbour, and this was where a small town was built, surrounded by much countryside where the majority of the people grew crops. The Great Flight had occured in our year of 1237 AD; the people of Yingzhou use the term "A.F" (After Flight) to refer to their dates. Fangzhang was founded in the year 1239, and began with a small population, estimated at about 230 people. As the population of the region grew, to 58,000 by 1450, so did the population of Fangzhang, which grew to 3,500. The region had little leadership, for it did not matter in the days of when few people lived in the lands on Yingzhou. A few warlords had loose control over the peasants, but there was no clear leader; until 1461, when one warlord, Shen-Zi, stormed into Fangzhang at the head of 100 horsemen, and declared himself Emperor of Yingzhou. This prompted violent responses from other warlords, and the other 11 joined forces and marched to Fangzhang with 2,100 men to depose Shen-Zi. The siege lasted for eight weeks before the defences were breached, and all of Shen-Zi's 180 soldiers were slaughtered. This, however, led to the issue of the vacant throne; who would take it? One warlord, Man Che-Tin, who had the most troops, gathered the support of 3 others, and declared himself the second Emperor of Yingzhou, within the vicinity of his non-allied warlords in the streets of Yingzhou itself. The other 8 immediately joined forces, and the two armies, the former numbering 800 men and the latter 1000, showed off in the town's streets. The Battle of Yingzhou was a success for Man Che-Tin; he was the second emperor of Yingzhou. Man Che-Tin built a great palace along the shore in Fangzhang, which soon became home to his 150 courtiers. Peace reigned in the early years of the Man Dynasty, and his son, Man Che-Lun, expanded Fangzhang and presided over a mighty empire of hundreds of thousands of people, as he began to unite the peoples of Yingzhou. He, his son, and his grandson ruled over a peaceful and propserous land; but the rediscovery of Yingzhou by the peoples of Asia would lead to terrible strife. The Empire that had forced the Nipponese from their homeland was beginning to settle the great western shore of Yingzhou, and in great numbers. Tens of thousands poured across the sea, seeking a new life away from the wars and plagues of Asia. What they found was not what they expected; most people in Asia believed those who fled in the Great Flight had perished in the tumultous waves of the great sea. A new settlement, Panjong, was founded 120 miles south of Fangzhang, and the Governor of Panjong claimed all of Yingzhou for his Emperor. The existing Emperor of Yingzhou, Man Lu-Chan, would not have it, and led an army of six thousand horsemen to the gates on Panjong. However, three days earler the Governor, Po Chang, had left the city to raise an army in the recently settled farmlands nearby. Man Lu-Chan searched desperately for Po Chang, but only found him 4 weeks after the pursuit began; in the fields in front of Panjong. Man Lu-Chan was outnumbered by at least two thousand men, and was decisively trounced at the Battle of Panjong. Forced to sue for peace, he recognised the enclave to the south of his lands; but not the mainland emperor's claims to all of Yingzhou. Thus Po Chang had Man Lu-Chan executed, and in the year 1626 the Man dynasty drew to a close, but Po Chang was not happy with simply being the emperor's representative on Yingzhou; he wanted all of it. Thus he declared himself Emperor of Yingzhou, and the Po Dynasty began, with its capital in Panjong, not Fangzhang. Deprived of the extravagance of the Imperial court, Fangzhang grew little in the early years of the Po Dynasty. Imperial records show as little as 400 people joined the 13,000 living in late Man Fangzhang by 1650. The great palace fell into disrepair, inhabited only by the local governor and his thirty guards. This all changed when a terrible earthquake struck Panjong in 1701, the year of the fifth Po Emperor. The city was left a smouldering ruin, with half of its 20,000 people dead. Unwilling to pay directly for the costs of repairing Panjong, the fifth Po Emperor, Po Chai-Len, simply abandoned the city for Fangzhang. From then on the city was growing again. By 1723, say imperial records, the population had surpassed the 25,000 mark as people flocked to live in the excellent harbour and near the imperial palace. The Palace was expanded to house 500 courtiers, and the city prospered. However, Po Chai-Len was immensely unpopular, and had little control over the lands beyond his small coastal enclave around Fangzhang. This queer arrangement of the emperor's direct power in Fangzhang, and his loose ability to collect taxes beyond it, existed stably well into his great-grandson, Po Shen's reign. Po Shen took the throne in 1832, when new technologies were bringing all of Yingzhou close to a revolution. The backwards "outer lands" remained in a medieval feudal state, whilst Fangzhang became a surging industrial centre, causing immense migration into the "Imperial Enclave", as the lands around Fangzhang were known. Realising Fangzhang, with its population fast approaching 500,000, would soon become choked with people, Po Shen sent vast amounts of money to modernise the "Outer Lands", and new industrial centres, including Panjong, rose. But this created even more tension; the ambitious barons of these lands became more powerful and wealthy, whilst the lesser lords could not stop the masses from flocking to the new centres. Suddenly, all of Yingzhou seemed on the brink of civil war; between the lesser lords, who wanted their serfs back, the higher lords, who wanted the throne, and the Emperor, who wanted to preserve his dynasty. At first the higher lords sided with the Emperor, as they knew that they could not march on Fangzhang without their internal rebellions supressed.The emperor believed that he could gain many things from this uncanny alliance; firstly, he was hopeful about the prospects of gaining the support of powerful lords and propping up his regime, secondly that even if the higher lords were against him he could wear out their forces against the lesser lords and finally he might be able to turn some of the higher lords against each other. In all of these categories except for the last his hopes failed. It proved that the higher lords had always been plotting against him, that the lesser lords were too weak and disunited to wear down the higher lords' forces, but the higher lords were by no means united. Following the crushing of an unsteady alliance of lesser lords at the Battle of Wei, whatever resemblance of friendship that existed between the Emperor and his higher lords disintegrated. The Emperor's armies swiftly withdrew to the safety of Fangzhang in the hope that the great warlords would destroy each other. But it proved that one was far more powerful than the others; Shan Lei. In 1836 he had amassed 85,000 soldiers of people from his own lands and those of lords he had subjugated. He siezed Panjong, we he raised 20,000 more troops, and marched across all of the land, destroying all who stood in his way. Soon he had 200,000 men to his name, and they were camped on the Fangzhang penninsula, which was the last stronghold of the Po dynasty. His fleet had already won a major victory against the emperor's forces in Fangzhang Bay, and now at last the final battle had come. 140,000 of the emperor's troops faced off 200,000 of Shan Lei's. The two armies formed ranks along the entire breadth of the penninsula. There would be no outflanking in that battle. The artillery opened the confrontation, and it is said Po Shen lost twenty thousand troops in the first few hours of the battle. In desperation, Po Shen ordered a charge. In the largest confrontation ever to take place on Yingzhou (America), 82,000 men lost their lives, 50,000 of which were the emperor's. Forced to withdraw, the first day of the Battle of Fangzhang was over. The second was less bloody, but more decisive. Po Shen lost a further 30,000 troops in a similar confrontation, and he agreed to meet Shan Lei to sue for peace. He had nothing to bargain with but the loyalties of the empire's people. They had all known the Po dynasty as rulers; it would be an abrupt change to have a new emperor. Thus an agreement was struck; Po Shen would abidicate and live out his remaining days in exile in Panjong, whilst Shan Lei would marry his daughter, thus putting Po blood in future line of emperors. The Shan Dynasty was born. Category:EOEP1